It took two overtimes for 12th seeded Crowley’s Ridge Academy to pull off the biggest upset of the Northeast Arkansas Invitational Tournament so far, a stunning 63-59 victory over fifth seeded Buffalo Island Central Tuesday afternoon at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
Trailing by seven entering the fourth quarter, BIC rallied to even the game at 54-all by the end of regulation. Senior guard Andrew McFarlin ignited the comeback, scoring eight points during the frame.
CRA won the tip to begin the first overtime period, but missed two point blank shots that would have put the Falcons on top. BIC worked the clock for over two minutes before getting an eight-foot jumper from McFarlin, who was fouled on the play. McFarlin added the and-one to give the Mustangs a 57-54 lead with 2:37 left. CRA wasted little time answering when Dalton Smith buried a triple from deep in the left corner to tie the score 57-57 at the 2:27 mark. BIC held the ball, looking for the last shot. With the clock winding down, Canon Walling launched a three that bounced off the rim. Kaleb Dublin got the rebound with one second left, but his last gasp attempt fell short, sending the game into a second overtime.
Neither team could get on the board in the second overtime until CRA’s Noah Elms banked in a seven-footer at the 1:58 mark, giving the falcons a two-point edge. Both teams missed a pair of free throws apiece over the next minute, before Dakota Smith was fouled with 23 seconds showing on the clock. Smith calmly sank both foul shots, putting the Falcons on top by four, 61-57. McFarlin raced the length of the court for a driving lay-in at the 17 second mark, slicing the CRA lead to two. Forced to foul, BIC sent Sam Malone to the foul stripe with 10 seconds left. Malone canned both freebies, pushing the Falcon lead to 63-59. The Mustangs missed a desperation shot as the clock ran out, giving CRA the upset victory.
The two teams battled to an 11-11 draw after the first period, with Smith scoring nine points. BIC moved ahead midway through the second stanza, 20-15, but the Falcons scored the last nine points of the quarter to grab a 24-20 halftime advantage. CRA led by as many as nine points in the third quarter before settling on a seven-point lead entering the final frame.
Dalton Smith pumped in a game high 27 points to lead the Falcons. Elms scored 13, Malone had 11 while Dakota Smith chipped nine.
McFarlin topped BIC with 19 points while Chayse Carmichael tallied 11. Devin Pemberton and Noah Teeter had eight points apiece, Walling netted five while Kaleb Dublin and Tate Schooley contributed three points each. Logan Harrison added two points.
BIC returns to conference action with home games Tuesday, Jan. 2, and Friday, Jan. 5, against Cross County and Marked Tree respectively.